Shugga chugga choo choo
by DrBadassPhD
Summary: Four years after saving New Hyrule, Link is a blossoming teen struggling to understand his own maturing thoughts and feelings. Ferrus is a lonely, misunderstood young man with a painful past. When a fun outing leads to a heartfelt attempt to understand one another, these close friends learn something both about each other and themselves. (Warnings: child abuse and homophobia)
1. Chapter 1

_16 sure is a troubling age to be,_ the baby-faced blond boy reflected as he lounged on the grass. _Maybe one of those wacko portal things can take me somewhere where I'm 12 again._ "Hehehe, choo-choo time travel," he chanted aloud in a sing-song voice, giggling and pumping his fist as if pulling on his train's whistle. _But seriously though, when the heck did everything start going all weird?_ He plopped on his back and pulled his red engineer's cap with the neato dove logo over his face, lying spread eagle. Normally when he did this it was simply to enjoy a nap in the soft grass and warm sunshine, but today was a day for contemplating. Contemperlating. Contemperponderlating.

Did it begin at that dinner party? Or the day in her bedroom? Was it that time when they snuck out the back tunnel behind the castle to play hide and seek in the Tower of Spirits? All he knew was that at some point Zelda had started acting all _weirdo-like_. It was little stuff at first, small gestures of affection he enjoyed. A pat on the head, a one-armed hug, a kind compliment. "Link, you have such a sweet smile!" or "It isn't fair how your hair is always so soft, Link! What shampoo do you use?" Things that made him feel warm inside, grateful to have such an awesome best friend. Best friend. Sister. Best sister friend. His cherished teammate and favorite buddy.

And then she started doing other stuff. Things he didn't dislike, per se, but that certainly made him feel uncomfortable. Kisses on his cheek, placing an arm around his waist. _And that totally weirdo out-there look she gave him._ What the heckin' heck was that look? Like she was looking at him super duper extra hard. Like he was a delicious sundae with three flavors of ice cream, topped with fruit and whipped cream and drizzled with strawberry and chocolate syrups. "With _lots of_ _rainbow sprinkles,_ " he added, licking his lips as he visualized the succulent dessert. He fantasized for a moment longer before remembering what he had originally been thinking about. Oh yeah, Zelda was looking at him in a different way nowadays. He liked the old way better.

He had talked to Alfonzo about it. Big ol' grown-up Alfonzo who knew stuff about things. Things that didn't make sense to Link. Like how Zelda probably had a _crush_ on him.  
"What the heckin' heck, Zelda wants to crush me?" "No, Link, I meant that she _likes_ you." "Well duh she likes me, she's my most awesomest best friend!" "Darn it boy, do you have whipped cream for brains? I mean like she wants to like… geez, look son, once people reach a certain age they start thinking about doing _romantic_ stuff together." "You mean like kissin' and whatever? And that wacko naked thing you told me about, the one that makes babies?" "... Yeah, that. Link, I'm saying Zelda is probably thinking about doing mushy stuff. Like being your girlfriend." "You mean like… WHAT THE HECKIN' HECK."

No no no no no no no. Heckin' no. Double heckin' no. Super extra double top secret heckin' no. Zelda is, like, his most favoritest friend. Like the sister he had never had. Not girlfriend. It isn't that he thought she was ugly or hated her. I mean are you kidding? Zelda was feisty, funny, and totally sweet. She was _flippin' cute, like extra pretty._ He had even told her so one time, although thinking back he almost wished he hadn't. Zelda was his _totally rad flippin' cute best sister friend,_ like the one person he could talk to about anything, and he didn't want any kind of weirdo adult stuff getting in the way of that because he _just didn't think about her that way._ Heck, he had tried, after his little talk with Alfonzo. But whenever he tried to imagine kissing her or even holding her hand, he instead found himself thinking of them giggling as they hid Teacher's notes for that day's lesson, or playing endless rounds of chess as they jabbered about happenings around the kingdom and plotted their next crazy adventure together.

 _And then there was that other thing._ Maybe times had just been a'changin' real quick, but it seems like nowadays every time he talked to Joe or even random soldiers, the number one topic was freakin' girls. Girls, women, which one they'd like to kiss, who looked good, whatever they were talkin' about. Link didn't get it. As far as he was concerned, every girl was flippin' cute, but what mattered most was that they were nice. So when Joe kept asking him "Hey Link, what do you think of that girl? Think I have a chance?" he mostly just said "Uhh.. yeah, she's pretty. I dunno." Because he appreciated the female aesthetic but he had never felt any personal attraction to a girl. While other men were discussing what they liked about this woman or that woman, he found himself thinking stuff like "Dude, Joe's freckles are flippin' cute" or "Holy cow, that soldier has some heckin' nice shoulders." Recently, it had occurred to him that maybe he just wasn't attracted to girls at all. Geez, everything felt so confusing to him. "Didn't have to worry about this load of Chu jelly when I was 12…" Link grumbled, stretching his sturdy arms. Zelda had a crush on him, but he didn't want to lose his best friend, and he probably didn't even like girls like that in the first place.

 _So what the heck was a flippin' cute engineer dude to do?_ Link thought as he sighed aloud. He had gone to both Alfonzo and Niko for advice. Alfonzo just grumbled that he was "not the one for relationship advice." Niko was quiet for a long time (totally unlike him), but finally said "Look son, most of these teen loves blow over in a few months top. So how about you just give Zelda some space for a while, let her feelings simmer down, and then maybe when you see her next everything will be back to normal?" That meant no more spending, like, every day at the castle. He had thought about it for a while, and realized that it probably didn't feel good to like somebody who didn't like you back, and that it probably just made it worse to see that person all the time. So following Niko's advice would probably be the best way to get his best friend back without breaking her heart.

That had been a month ago, and he had only gone up to see Zelda twice since then. She didn't ask him why he suddenly stopped coming by, but she seemed a little sad. Link just couldn't wait for this whole thing to be over with. He really didn't like the idea that he was causing Zelda any kind of pain, although he didn't see any way around it. He had spent a lot of time working on his train, collecting rare treasures and taking them to Linebeck III to trade in for new train cars. In just two weeks he had a complete Sweet Train. When Alfonzo asked him, "Link, why did you replace the sacred Spirit Train with a mobile dessert bar?" he just rolled his eyes and replied "Becaaauuuse, Alfonzo, it's _flippin' cute_. Just like me. I'm cute."

Bereft of his best friend and longing for company, he had been driving passengers around. A lot. He didn't get Force Gems for it anymore, now that the Spirit Tracks were completely restored, but he still didn't like taking rupees unless they absolutely insisted. I mean dude, did they not know how fun it was just to drive his train around, feeling the wind whipping around him, hearing the train's loud shugga chugga and clear whistle, seeing the landscape whizzing past? He made plenty of rupees selling treasure to Linebeck III; why take even more money for doing what he would probably be doing anyway, whether he gave someone a ride while he was at it or not? And there were a lot of passengers that he really liked. _Like that one guy._

He and Link had always gotten along well anyway, although admittedly he was a bit of an oddball, and, like, a total dork. But over the past month they had been seeing quite a bit of each other, and Link had found that he had just the easiest, funnest time talking with this rad dude. It had gotten to where every time Link saw the Postman running towards him, letter in hand, he just filled up in anticipation, hoping it was that guy asking for a ride. Speaking of which, he hadn't even checked the mail today…

In an instant the blond teen was on his feet and bounding across Aboda Village. "Hiya Link!" a redheaded little girl in a pink sundress called to him as he dashed past. He turned around, still jogging in place, and flashed her a grin that showed the rather becoming gap between his top two incisors. "CHOO CHOO Rei! Gotta shugga chugga to the mailbox!" he hollered, waving his hat, before turning around and sprinting towards the mailbox by the station platform. He was filled with excitement as he saw the red mailbox bouncing out of control. "WOO HOO FOR BOUNCY MAILBOX! HOW THE HECK DOES A MAILBOX BOUNCE ANYWAY?!" he happily roared to nobody in particular. He skid to a halt and touched the mailslot, and within seconds heard a familiar voice calling "CHOO CHOO!"

The Postman's big red hat was bobbing as he ran up to Link. He halted and stood at attention as he handed Link an envelope and said rather stiffly, "One letter for a Mr. Link!" Link's heart skipped a beat. "From Mr. Ferrus! Thank you ver-" "WOO HOO SKIPPY DOO!" Link hollered and jumped up in a wild happy dance, chaotically waving about both his hat and the envelope. "Like neato, dude!" "Ah yes, sir," the Postman said awkwardly as he attempted to maintain his poise demeanor, "Well, if that concludes our business-" Link cheerily clapped his back, knocking him a few inches forward, "Totally dude! You're like, the best!" "Yes, thanks sir…" the Postman started, before totally dropping his stiff attitude and saying, "Oh heck with this, you make it too hard!" "What?" Link asked, bewildered but not really paying attention. "Well like, my bosses told me I have to act professional and stop being so chatty, but it's boring. Just because they're a bunch of stiffs doesn't mean I have to be! Anyway, so Ferrus was looking super bored too, so maybe he wants you to give him a lift somewhere. Does he still do nothing but photograph trains all day? What a weirdo." "What?" This caught Link's attention. "Nah dude, Ferrus is like the coolest! Time to shugga chugga away!" And Link zoomed off, shoving his engineer's cap on lopsided and leaving the somewhat stunned Postman behind. "What a fruitcake," he mumbled under his breath as he watched Link jump over the stairs onto the platform.

The over-excited teen was already pulling levers and getting the train's gears in motion before he realized that he ought to actually read Ferrus' letter before just taking off. He ripped open the envelope and removed the neatly folded parchment. His hands trembled as he read: _"Hey there buddy! So remember a couple of weeks ago we were talking about those wacko portals? I was thinking it'd be totally awesome if you could drive me through a few of them. I mean this is like some serious spacetime craziness going on here, making trains teleport. I just gotta see it in action! Anyway, here's a map showing where you can find me. -Ferrus"_ At the bottom of the letter Link saw a neatly hand-drawn map of the southeastern region of Forest Realm, with a small X near the crossroads just west of the Trading Post.

Ferrus was a lonely dude. Like sure, it was he who elected to live out in the sticks and chase trains all day, but that didn't mean he hated human contact. It was just that nobody really got him. He was weird, and he knew it, and he had decided he couldn't and shouldn't have to change himself. He loved trains, he loved photography, he loved archaeology. And when Ferrus loved something, he was totally gung-ho into it, no casual interest allowed. Years ago, when he left (or more like ran away from) home, he decided to throw himself wholeheartedly into his passions. He had been photographing trains and occasionally ruins ever since.

But it hadn't taken him long to realize something important was missing from his new life; he didn't have a single friend in all of New Hyrule. Even so, he traveled around so much that almost everybody knew who he was, kind of like a local celebrity. Or more like a tourist attraction. Like "Oh look, there's that weird guy who goes gaga over trains! What's his name again? Ferrin? Ferrell?" It was _Ferrus._ Like ferrous, from the Latin word _ferrum_ , as in iron, which makes machines, such as trains. _Ferrus._ It was a cool name, he had always thought. Despite so many people knowing _of_ him, pretty much nobody _knew_ him. People rarely stopped to talk to him, and when they did all he had to talk about was trains, photography, and ruins. But clearly those are the three coolest topics in the world, so why did his over-the-top enthusiasm for them seem to chase everyone away?

Well, everyone except this one guy. Link, the cute little engineer hero dude. Link was the only person he knew who loved trains as much as he did, leading Ferrus to graciously bestow upon him the honorary title of "traniac." Link was always happy to stop by for a chat, and had even given him a lift to some totally awesome spots for taking photographs. And he drove THE Spirit Train for Hylia's sake! THE ACTUAL SPIRIT TRAIN. _And he even let him ride in it._ One of his favorite memories was of the time Link took him on the underwater tracks to see the Ocean Temple. He got to ride on _the best train_ to a _beautiful ancient temple_ where he took _dozens of stunning photographs._ Now that's what Ferrus called a perfect day. It was so awesome he even gave Link an artifact he found, this totally cool ancient gold coin, as a thank you gift.

This past month Ferrus had been seeing even more of Link than usual for some reason. Fine by him; he liked talking to the little dude, and they always did something awesome together. For example, at the moment he was in the engineer's box of a train that looked like a dessert buffet, clinging onto Link and yelling over the train's rhythmic cacophony into his pointy ear, "Dude, like, are you sure this is okay?"

Link just let out a jolly laugh and said "Come on dude, it's not like you can observe the wacko portals from the passenger car! Just don't touch anything!" The wind was whipping Ferrus' dark blue hair and lengthy bangs all around, threatening to steal his red conductor's hat. He was dressed almost identically to Link, except his engineer's uniform was aqua rather than navy blue, he wore brown loafers instead of boots, and he wore a yellow ascot. The ascot was necessary with the uniform's deep v-neck; he just couldn't pull off that open chest look as well as Link. Also, Link kept the sleeves of his uniform rolled up past his elbows, complementing the distinct air of mischief he gave off. "CHOO CHOO!" Link roared merrily as he pulled the train's whistle, and glanced over his shoulder at Ferrus. "For a so-called traniac, you're acting like a big heckin' baby! How old are you anyway?!" "19," Ferrus responded, calming down as he became accustomed to the wind and rocking of the train. They turned south. "Woah, dude!" Link exclaimed, "You look, like, way older! I thought you were like 25 or something!" "Gee, thanks," Ferrus grumbled, "I get that a lot." Link's eyes widened a bit and he became flustered. "No dude, that's, like, a good thing! I have the opposite problem! I'm already 16, and I know I'm flippin' cute, but everybody still thinks I'm 12 or something! And I'm not even as short as I used to be!" They turned east, now on tracks running over shallow, pristine ocean water. "So wait, you're not 12?" Ferrus sounded genuinely surprised. "NO, YA DING-DONG!" Link hollered, "I'm 16 I tell ya! It even says so on my specially certified engineer's certificate with Zelda's autograph and everything!" "Calm down little dude, I believe you," Ferrus yelled back, and then gasped. "HOLY SMOKIN' AXLES, I see a wacko portal!" he squealed in uncontained excitement.

"CHOO CHOO," Link roared joyously, "Time to blow my whistle! Dude, watch this crazy thing! TO THE SNOW REALM!" He did indeed give the whistle a strong left-handed yank, sounding a high pitched _choo choo_ and tinkling melody. Ferrus watched in dumbfounded amazement as a circle of yellow light opened in the stone gate and expanded into a swirling portal. "Dude!" Ferrus ejaculated, thrilled beyond description. The train was heading closer to the light, not slowing its pace… and they passed through it.

Ferrus opened his eyes, as he had closed them without meaning to, and saw that he was surrounded by a familiar mountainous landscape and grass lightly powdered by snow. Link was grinning over his shoulder at Ferrus' speechless expression, and asked "So? Aren't the wacko portals like the coolest?" "DUUUUDE," Ferrus gasped, "That was _awesome_." They simultaneously burst into jolly laughter. "I know right!" Link happily agreed, "Dude, like, I'm gonna take you all around New Hyrule today! Let's give a big CHOO CHOO for wacko portals!" He yanked the whistle, drawing another round of giggles from the both of them.

Link was true to his word. Ferrus was having the time of his life as he and Link laughed, geeked out, and hollered out crazy ideas on how the portals work while teleporting first to the Fire Realm, then back to the Forest Realm. They took on pirates in the Ocean Realm, and admired the massive statues in the Sand Realm. They battled weirdo bug monsters in a cave in the Fire Realm, and finally as the evening closed in teleported back to the Snow Realm, where Link brought the train to a gentle halt at Wellspring Station. Ferrus thought to himself that today had somehow been even better than the day Link drove him to the Ocean Temple. In trying to figure out why, he recalled the sensation of clinging onto Link's back as they geeked out and cut up, struggling to hear each other over the shugga chugga of the Sweet Train. _Today was a great day,_ a small, truthful voice spoke in the back of Ferrus' mind, _because you spent it with Link._

"Yo, like, you in there Ferrus?" Link called, waving his hand in front of Ferrus' freckled face. Ferrus blinked his dark eyes several times and said in a dazed tone, "What? Oh, yeah. Dude, that was an awesome ride." Link grinned happily and stretched. "No kiddin'. I'm like totally bushed though. Can I hang out for a bit before rolling on home?" Ferrus was a little surprised by Link's directness, but hey, the little dude had just given him the time of his life. He could at least treat him to cookies and milk. "Uh, yeah, sure," he finally replied, "Feel free to stay as long as you want." Ferrus' heart skipped a beat. _Where the heck did that last part come from? Stay as long as you want?_ Ferrus thought as he felt his cheeks flush.

Meanwhile, the oblivious Link had jumped up and cheered "WOOT WOOT, PARTY AT FERRUS' HOUSE," dashing off into Ferrus' "house" (okay, it was really an abandoned train car, but to him it was home) before his host could even invite him in. Ferrus snorted and called out "Geez dude, do you like never run out of energy, even when you're tired?" as he stepped over the doorframe. Link was lying facedown on the floor next to the roughly-made wooden chabudai. He picked his head up and propped it in his hands, looking up at Ferrus with startlingly bright blue eyes. "Well duh dumb diddly I do," he said matter-of-factly, "That's why I'm resting here!" "Yeah, yeah, of course," Ferrus replied, grinning happily as he reached in a cabinet beneath his combined workbench/desk and pulled out a tin of chocolate chip cookies, a jug of milk, and two glasses. It wasn't much, but it was pretty much all the food he had. He placed them unceremoniously on the chabudai, where a faded, wrinkled map heavily marked with old scribbles and annotations served as the tablecloth. "Here, have a snack. I made these cookies yesterday," he offered to Link, who was observing him with a certain adorable, childlike look of anticipation on his face. Adorable.

"Gee, thanks!" Link happily exclaimed and sat up. "I feel like I could eat like two big feasts at the castle in a row PLUS dessert!" He didn't hesitate to reach into the tin and pull out three small, soft cookies. "Plus dessert?" Ferrus asked as he raised an eyebrow and grinned yet again. Link looked at him quite seriously. "Yeah. Don't you know, I have, like, two stomachs," he explained, "My regular food stomach and my dessert stomach. That way when I finish the savory stuff I always have room for sweets, 'cuz that's the real most important meal of the day." Ferrus broke into a hearty laugh and said, "Gee, you're like a little kid! Anyway, how's the cookie?" Link had bitten into one, and his eyes were as round and wide as saucers. He looked up at Ferrus with the same astonished expression, and swallowed. "Bro," he said slowly, "these are terrible." "What?" Ferrus raised a hand to his mouth, horrified. "Yeah, like," Link continued in the same slow, monotone voice, "They're so terrible I'm going to have to eat them all. To spare you the experience." Suddenly he shoved the remaining two cookies in his hand into his mouth and melodramatically collapsed on his back. " _Ferrus,_ " he moaned in ecstasy through a mouth full of food, "these are abso-tootin'-lutely _stellar._ Like the actual best thing I've ever eaten."

Ferrus burst into laughter. "Don't _do_ that, little dude!" he jokingly scolded, clapping Link on the shoulder and helping himself to a cookie, "I thought I had accidentally poisoned you or something!" "Nah bro, but like, these are so good I'd eat them even if they were poisonous. Like that one time Gage made- oh whatever, you probably don't wanna hear about that. It wasn't pretty." "Oh," Ferrus blushed again, "Thanks. Uhh…" A silence fell between them. Link seemed perfectly relaxed, happily chowing down on one cookie after another. _Was he even chewing, or just vacuuming them down?_ But Ferrus felt a little uncomfortable. _Shouldn't I make conversation with him or something,_ he thought, _be a good host and all that? Geez Louise he's cute._ He cast around in his head for topics. They had already spent all day talking about trains. Normally he'd happily keep jabbering on about his favorite machinery, but something about being around Link made him feel… self-conscious? No, not quite that. It was more like… more like…

 _This is the feeling,_ the small voice in the back of Ferrus' mind spoke up again, _of liking someone. Of liking someone and wanting to be liked back. Of worrying over whether they approve of you. Is it selfish to desire reciprocation when we like somebody? Or is it only natural? How would you know; you've never been accepted by anyone. You got used to being the odd one out. The black sheep. And now you've gotten to know someone with whom you mesh like two peas in a pod. Now that someone liking you at all is within the realm of possibility, you have the luxury of worrying what they think of you. Staying true to yourself is important, but isn't it something of a blessing to not have to assume that being yourself will push people away?_

"So, like," Link interrupted Ferrus' inner musings, "Is getting lost in your thoughts like your fourth hobby?" Ferrus snapped his head in Link's direction, startled out of his reflections. Link was lying on his side now, propping his head up on his right elbow and holding a half-eaten cookie in his other hand. "My fourth hobby?" Ferrus asked quizzically, deciding not to discuss what he had been thinking about. "Yeah, you know, like I basically only know three things that you like," Link explained, "Number one, you like trains. Duh. Number two, you like photography. Double duh. Number three, you like old stuff, and thinking about the people who made the old stuff. Like ruins and old whatchamacallits, uh, artifacts. What's the word for that? Anthro- wait no, it's a kind of anthropology, acro… err, archaeology?" "Yeah, that," Ferrus confirmed. He was surprised; everyone knew he liked trains, but nobody else had ever picked up on his fascination with ancient people. "Yeah," Link grinned cheerfully, "Ya know I still have that old coin you got me from the Ocean Temple? I used to put it in my treasure bag, but I was afraid I'd accidentally sell it to Linebeck III, so now I keep it in the super top secret inside pocket of my uniform." He reached inside the breast of his shirt and removed a rustic gold coin, tossing it up and catching it before putting it away again. "I like to pretend it's a good luck charm!" Link shot Ferrus a big toothy grin.

"Uhh… yeah, uh, err…" Ferrus halfway acknowledged. Sure, it was a little weird, but Ferrus found it touching that Link had held onto his gift. Frankly, however, he wasn't sure how to express this sentiment or what would be a proper response to Link being so… well, yeah. Link seemed to pick up on Ferrus' feeling of awkwardness, and hurriedly rambled on. "I mean like I said, I didn't want to accidentally sell it," he explained, gesticulating with his left hand, "I legit bring home the bacon by selling treasure. And like, dude, the Ocean Temple is no joke, flippin' monsters everywhere. You went through lots of trouble to get the coin, and then you turned around and gave it to me. So like, I wanted to hold onto it." Link paused for a moment before continuing. "Besides, it is an archaeological artifact. I'm surprised you didn't wanna keep it in your own collection."

"Err, yeah," Ferrus stumbled before stiffening his expression and asking, "But how did you know I'm into archaeology, anyway?" He spoke quickly, as if determined to get the question out before deciding not to ask it. Link responded blandly, "One time I tried to visit you and you weren't home, but I found a big ol' long ol' note where you were talking about how you wondered who made the wacko portals and why." "What?" Ferrus interjected. Link plowed on, "And then you like totally geeked out about exploring old temples, and then you got me the coin and stuff. I mean it just kind of made sense, ya know. Why does it surprise you that I figured that out?" "Oh, well, umm…" Ferrus hesitated again, "I guess… I don't know." He breathed in deeply, and spoke. "I'm gonna level with you pal, I don't exactly have any friends. And everyone I'm at least acquainted with just knows me as the train photographer. I guess it's just that nobody really knows what my other hobbies and interests are, or anything else about me for that matter. Or cares to take the time to find out. Like, nobody really _knows me,_ if that makes a bit of sense."

As Ferrus spoke, Link's brow furrowed into a thoughtful expression. He sat up and rested his chin in his hand, listening carefully. When Ferrus finished he looked up and locked eyes with the teen's intense sapphire orbs. They seemed… sad? Concerned? Meditative? They were carefully observing Ferrus; he realized that these weren't the eyes of someone who failed to notice much. He wondered if Link had really been so oblivious to his blushing earlier, or if he simply ignored it for the sake of being tactful. Or because he didn't care. When Link spoke, it was in a tone Ferrus had never heard him use before. It was slightly sad, but above all serious, slow, and measured, as if he were carefully reflecting on each word as he spoke. He said, "Maybe… I don't really know you either. I know about things that you like. But I don't really know a lot about who you are. Thought processes, behavioral patterns, little habits and quirks… things that make us individuals. It's sad, really. I've… been acquainted with you for four years now. And it's really great that we have so many mutual interests, because it makes it super easy to talk to you, but… Geez, I don't know what I'm trying to say. I have a ton of fun whenever we're together. You're really great, ya know? So I guess I'm saying that I'd like to get to know you better… Sorry, was that, like, a super weird thing to say or just plain corny?" Ferrus was staring at him with an unreadable expression, mouth slightly agape.

Ferrus shook himself a little and stuttered, "Oh n-n-no, I just… oh geez Louise, umm… Chu jelly." His heart had slammed into his chest and rose in his throat as Link spoke. Nobody had ever said anything to him even remotely close to the words he was hearing. He had no idea how he was supposed to react, so he remained frozen, stunned and intensely aware of his racing heart. "Yeah, I'll take it I was just super weird. Sorry," Link said. He took his cap off, looking down with closed eyes and vigorously shaking his head like a wet dog. His blond hat hair was fluffed into a dishevelled mess. One slightly curling lock at the peak his crown stuck almost straight up. Ferrus' heart leapt again as he thought, unbidden, that Link was beyond adorable. Link hugged his knees to his chest and rest his head on them, looking down with a pained expression and slight frown. Ferrus felt himself panic as he realized the precious boy was feeling incredibly embarrassed. He had just earnestly expressed his desire to become close friends with someone, and now mistakenly believed those feelings had been rejected. That Ferrus thought he was "super weird." Oh damn, no no no no. That wasn't it at all. _Dammit Ferrus, pull yourself together and just say what you're really thinking,_ he thought furiously.

Ferrus smacked himself in the forehead with a firm, open palm, startling Link into looking up. "Link, what you said was on the strange side, but I wasn't weirded out at all. Not in that way," he spoke swiftly, as if determined to get his thoughts out before clamming up again. He kept the hand he had hit himself with over his eyes, as if shielding himself from the sight of any twitch of the mouth, any subtle reaction from Link that may steal his voice away. "It's just that I really had no idea how to react to that. I mean like I said, nobody has ever cared to get to know me before. I just… damn, I'm just really touched, okay?" He finally lowered his hand and batted his long eyelashes open. In front of him he saw a sweet, unaffected teen with hopeful eyes, wearing an expression of innocent surprise. The look on Link's face was rather like that of a puppy who had expected to be scolded but instead found himself receiving a treat and affectionate head rub, and still didn't quite believe he wasn't in hot water. It spurred Ferrus on, who wanted to confirm to Link that he felt happy to have heard someone so honestly state that they enjoyed being around him. "And you know what? I think you're totally awesome too. First of all, you're an _engineering hero._ I mean, you and that butt-kicking princess taking on the actual Demon Train? Putting the smack down on Malladus and saving New Hyrule? And you did it using your skills as both an engineer and a swordsman. Dude, that's the stuff of legends. I mean seriously, your story is going down in history." Ferrus paused and smiled warmly. Link was looking at him with a strange expression. "And it isn't just what you did, it's also who you are. You've got a big, kind heart and are always so friendly to everybody you meet. You just have this innocent, earnest aura about you that… well, for me anyway, it makes me happy, like it's impossible to have bad thoughts when you're around. You're clever, too. Super thoughtful and observant."

Ferrus inhaled and exhaled, and looked at Link. The lad was blushing deeply. It wasn't just his cheeks; his whole face was a glowing red split open by a wide grin. He was sitting up stiffly, but his posture was slightly concave and he was discreetly wringing his hands beneath the table. His spoke shyly, his bright blue eyes sparkling, and said "You forgot to add that I'm flippin' cute." Ferrus, who had been awaiting Link's response in nervous anticipation, burst into laughter. "Okay, you're that too!" he chortled, causing Link to giggle in unison.

Link's giggling subsided and his blush faded to a rosy hue coloring his smooth cheeks. _They look so soft; he must not even have to shave yet,_ Ferrus thought. A happy smile pervaded on Link's face as he warmly said, "Thank you, Ferrus… It really means a lot." But then his face dropped in a trouble expression. Ferrus eyed him anxiously. "That stuff about being a hero though..." Link began, looking down and speaking seriously. "Like, yeah, going on a big adventure was fun, and I met a lot of great people and got to see lotsa amazing places… But, like, people only ever think about the cool parts, and because of what I did they expect me to be this fearless, badass hero type. Nobody considers how terrifying it is when you got nothing but a sword between yourself and a giant monster, but you gotta force yourself to keep your head because if you don't figure out its weakness that's lights out. It's so scary, like everything inside you is telling you to run away or just curl up and cry, but you know you don't have any option but to keep fighting. I'd like to say that in those moments it was something noble that kept me going, like knowing that New Hyrule would be destroyed if I failed, or at least thoughts of my friends. But truthfully, I just didn't want to die. There were so many times I seriously thought I was gonna get myself done in. I've never been so scared… And it was even worse at times when the action slowed down, and I had time to think about the fights I still had ahead and whether I'd survive them, and what would happen if I didn't. Honestly, I think the only reason I didn't break down was that I didn't want Zelda to see me like that. I don't know, dude… nobody ever asked me if I was ready to be a hero. I just had to do it. It's a miracle I lived and can even be sitting here talking to you about it at all. Mostly nowadays, I just think every moment I have is a blessing."

Ferrus simply stared at Link, speechless. He had never even considered… not once thought… It seemed so obvious now, so why had he never considered Link's story in that light? He had only been 12 years old, already considering the finality and consequences of death. That was just too much, too young… Link exhaled, closed his eyes and blinked them open, now smiling softly. "It feels kind of nice to finally be able to say that," he added thoughtfully, "I've never even told Zelda how I feel about the whole hero thing, and she's my bestest friend." He laughed a little and scratched the back of his head. "I can just imagine what she'd say if I did, seeing how she was my partner in battle and all." "Hmm…" Ferrus said, finally finding his voice. "I don't know, dude. That's heavy stuff, right there. Heavy, heavy stuff. I guess people just don't consider it from that angle because it's not something they have personally experienced, especially since New Hyrule has been peaceful for so long. We're like innocent fools, really. But ya know, you said Zelda was your best friend and partner in battle, right?" "Yeah. Like, I did most of the heavy lifting going through the temples and stuff, but we worked together to get the rail maps from the Tower of Spirits, and we both fought Byrne and Malladus. I definitely couldn't have won either battle without her." "Mhmm," Ferrus acknowledged thoughtfully, "So I'd say that if anyone would understand how you felt, it would be Princess Zelda. I imagine she felt just as frightened as you did." At this Link grinned cheerfully. "Maybe so, but then again that girl has more guts than every soldier New Hyrule has ever known put together, and then some. Ya know, one time I did ask her if she ever got scared during our quest. She just shrugged and said, 'Princesses don't have the luxury of being scared for themselves. I have a kingdom to be responsible for.' I thought that was sad and a bit lonely, but also kinda admirable in a way."

Ferrus smiled strangely (so Link thought), and asked, "You really think a lot of her, don't you?" Link's face lit up. "Yeah, like, she's the greatest!" he exclaimed happily. But then his face dropped. He leaned on the chabudai and propped his head up on one elbow. "Things have been real weird between us lately, though," he said dejectedly. "Huh? Why's that?" Ferrus asked in concern, with just a drop of plain curiosity in his voice. "Well, it's like…" Link began, but then paused and fixed his eyes on Ferrus with a serious expression. "You promise you won't tell?" he asked, sounding like a child trying to keep what was only in their mind some all-important secret. "Uhh, yeah, sure," Ferrus replied, put off. Link eyed him suspiciously. "Okay then, for real. I promise I won't tell," Ferrus reaffirmed in a more genuine tone, smiling, "Cross my heart and hope to die." "Okay," Link approved, apparently satisfied. "Well, thing is, for a couple months now Zelda's been acting all kinds of weird around me. Things like… I don't know, saying and doing a lot of weird stuff. So I talked to Alfonzo about it, and it turns out Zelda probably has the hots for me or whatever! Like, can you even believe that?" "Oh!" Ferrus exclaimed, "Uhh… well, I just finished saying that you're a great guy. So yeah, I guess I can believe that." _Especially since I have the hots for you too,_ he thought. Startled at this revelation, his heart panged and pounded into his sternum again, and he felt his cheeks turn hot.

Link's eyes twitched a little but he jabbered on. "Well anyway, I just don't feel the same way towards her. She's my best pal and confidante. I tried liking her in a different way, and I just can't. Thing is, that puts me in a tight spot because I really don't want to hurt her feelings by rejecting her. But I also sure ain't about to date her out of pity, 'cause lying like that is just plain wrong. You get what I mean?" "Yeah… yeah, definitely," Ferrus replied breathlessly, still a little dazed but quietly rejoicing to hear that Link was single. He then felt a stab of guilt. _Come on Ferrus, the guy is in a tight spot with his best friend and all you can think about his how it benefits you,_ he scolded himself, _How could you have such selfish thoughts when you should be lending a friendly ear, comfort, and advice? A guy like you doesn't even deserve Link's friendship, much less his love._ Chastised and dejected, he refocused his attention on hearing out Link's predicament. "Right," Link was saying, "So I asked Niko what I should do because old guys just know stuff, and he said to just give Zelda space until she gets over me or whatever. So now I've only seen my best friend like two times over this past, like, forever. Okay, it's only been a month, but it's been a lonely one. It sucks. But Zelda's a smart cookie, so I'm sure she'll understand I stopped hanging out with her 'cause I wanted to spare her feelings... And I can't say it would have turned out any better if I had just directly confronted her about it. She's a holy flippin' terror when she's upset, and I'm not much better."

"And there's definitely no way you like her back?" Ferrus inquired, now feeling genuinely sorry for his friend and wanting to find a solution that would minimize Link's heartache. Link shook his head sadly, and replied, "Nope, not a chance. See, there's this other thing." Ferrus furrowed his brow and tilted his head slightly, curious as to what else could be causing Link grief. Link inhaled deeply, and once again fixed Ferrus with an intense stare. "This part really is super top secret. Nobody else knows about this," he said seriously, "So you have to promise not to breathe a word, not even to the trees. Or snowflakes." "Of course," Ferrus replied, wondering what kind of secret could possibly be so troubling to Link. "I won't even think about it if you don't want me to." Link smiled gratefully and said, "Nah, I can't ask you to not think about stuff that I tell you. But anyway, here it goes." He inhaled deeply and hesitated. Ferrus patiently waited, sensing that it was one of those things that require a great gathering of courage before they can be spoken. Steeling himself, Link finally continued, "I… I don't even think I like girls at all. Not just Zelda, but any girls. Not in that way. I'm just not attracted to girls. Every guy I know wants to yammer on and on about girls they think are pretty, but I… well, I'd rather talk about guys that I think are pretty. Or handsome. Whatever, there's a lot of guys out there. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm only attracted to men." Feeling slightly panic-stricken, Link paused to observe Ferrus, hoping to gauge his reaction. All he saw was shock in the young man's deep, dark eyes and slightly agape mouth. He wasn't sure why he felt tears welling up in his own eyes, and struggled to suppress them as he plowed on desperately. "I mean, I don't think it's a bad thing, right? But doesn't it make me a bit weird? The way everybody talks, you'd think it was just guys are supposed to like girls and girls are supposed to like guys, and that's it. I never met another guy who also likes guys, unless they were just hiding it. Is something wrong with me? It feels so confusing to me, like I don't even know why I'm spilling my guts to you right now. Heck, is there even a word for guys liking guys?"

"Yeah," Ferrus replied faintly, "It's called being gay. Or homosexual. Whichever term you like." Ferrus felt his heart ache in sympathy, staring into the watery-eyed, blushing face of the teenage boy. He longed to say something kind, something reassuring, but as usual his words stuck. Looking deep into Link's beautiful, shining blue eyes… Ferrus saw himself.

 _Ferrus was a plump, happy boy of 14, living in a quaint, idyllic island village far outside of New Hyrule. It had been an exceptionally good day for fishing, and Ferrus had worked extra hard to finish balancing his father's accounts early so he could help weigh and filet the day's catch. It was imperative that he put his father in a good mood, because he had decided that today was going to be the day… He approached the burly old man, who was merrily whistling an old sea shanty as he loaded a cart of grouper. His father's kind but stern face was often difficult to read, but today he was clearly cheerful. As Ferrus approached him, he boomed, "Ferrus, m'boy! Already done with the ol' number books, are ya? Come to lend your old man a hand with the heavy lifting?" "Right-o, daddy-o! Err… well, actually, there's something I want to talk to you about." "Well then fire away, son! Haha, have you given up on those trains, then? Decided to study something more useful?" His father chuckled to himself and muttered, "Trains on an island, I ask you…" "Sorry Pops, I haven't let that one go yet," Ferrus said genially as he hoisted up a large slippery fish. "You remember that friend I had over for dinner last week? Pipit?" "Ah yes, ol' Groose's son. Fine lad, strong lad... You could take a few pointers from him, eh, son? Haha, I'm just yankin' yer chain, this family couldn't get by without your brains. Anyway, what about him?" "Err, well thing is dad, he's not actually my friend. He's… Pipit's my boyfriend." "Eh?" "Pipit's my boyfriend, Pops. I'm into guys." Pops grumbled, "You know your mother and I didn't raise you up to that." Ferrus felt he should have known to quit then, but instead he opened his big mouth again. "Well yeah, but that's how it is. This is just how I am. You can either live with it or-" SMACK. Ferrus was on the ground, right cheek throbbing. He spat out a mouthful of blood and a premolar. "I'M NOT HAVING NO FRUITCAKE FAIRY QUEEN FOR A SON," his father roared, towering over the terrified boy, "The train nonsense was bad enough, now this?! Do you get your kicks out of putting your father to shame, you little ingrate?! I'll beat that nonsense out of you if it kills you, mark my words, boy! Now get out of my sight! OUT!" That night, Ferrus stowed away, hiding amongst the stacked crates of a container vessel moored in the harbor. It left the next morning, leaving Ferrus' old world behind him._

Ferrus was looking across at a beautiful boy who, for whatever reason, had chosen to expose to him a part of himself that he knew all too well would be tragically easy for the wrong person to hurt. He subconsciously felt the gap once occupied by his missing tooth with his tongue. What had he wanted to hear from his father that day, what had he hoped would come of their talk…? "There's not a thing wrong with you, Link," Ferrus spoke kindly, softly, because although he was talking mostly to Link, he was also talking himself. "Guys can be attracted to guys, too, no sweat. Just because something is less common doesn't mean it's not "normal." It just means that it's normal to different people. And I promise you that you're not the first and only guy in New Hyrule to struggle with all the confusion that comes with people telling you something that contradicts with what you personally feel… I know that for sure, because, well… I only like guys too."

"Woah!" Link exclaimed, eyes wide. "No way!" Ferrus smiled slightly. "Yes way." "Oh, wow! So, like, that means that like… aggh," Link groaned and ruffled his hair, but he was evidently pleased. _Hehe, way to go, you flippin' cute engineer dude, that means you might have a chance with this guy,_ he was thinking to himself. "Well gee, that's a load off my shoulders," he said cheerfully, "Gay… gay… say, how come I've never heard that word before? Why _do_ people assume that guys only like girls and vice versa?" "I don't know, man," Ferrus shrugged. _There's no need to expose this young lad to that particular bit of humanity's nastiness_ , he thought, _not just yet, at least_. "People are just weird," Ferrus concluded aloud. "Is it because of the sex thing?" Link asked bluntly, causing Ferrus to turn beet red and choke on nothing. "How does that even work with two guys anyway?"

"W-w-well, it's like, umm, I g-g-guess, I mean, I dunno, n-n-not to say that I'm any kind of expert but, ah, oh creaking cabin cars that's awkward, uh," Ferrus stammered, now flushed up to the tips of his long ears. "Woah, woah, dude, it's okay," Link cut him off and grinned sheepishly, waving his hands in a halting gesture, "Like, you don't have to tell if you don't want to. Alfonzo said people are mighty secretive about naked stuff, after all. Don't go and bust an axle on me." Ferrus smiled gratefully, but was still a little thrown off kilter. "Yeah, thanks. Just… ah like," he said, somewhat embarrassed, "just trust me, dude. There are ways." Link laughed genially and said, "Understood, understood. No details necessary. Not right now, anyway." He giggled again, then stood up and stretched, shoving his red engineer's cap over his head of playfully tousled blond locks.

Sounding positively cheerful, Link said "Well Ferrus, I reckon it's about time for me to shugga chugga on home." He bounced over to the still seated young man and flashed him a big toothy grin. "Thanks for the snack and stuff! I had lotsa fun today." He bent down slightly and offered his right hand to Ferrus, who clasped it in a firm handshake despite the sinking feeling in his heart. Putting up a merry facade, Ferrus replied "You're very welcome, Link! Thank you for the ride today; those wacko portals really were the coolest." He attempted to draw his hand away. Link didn't let go. Ferrus' heart skipped a beat, and he snapped his gaze up.

Link's grin had softened into a sweet, slightly crooked smile. There were faint roses in his cheeks, and he was gazing at Ferrus with… warmth? His eyes were so round, so bright blue, so vibrant. "Yeah, sure dude. Always happy to give you a lift. Also, by the way, thanks a lot for talking to me," Link said softly, "You really helped clear up a lot of exhaust in my head. So, uhh… say, can I tell you one more secret?" "Yeah, whatever you like," Ferrus replied breathlessly, taking in the texture of Link's small but rough hand. "See, I told you I like guys," Link whispered, leaning in closer, "But there's one guy I especially like. Like I got a crush on him." "Oh," was all Ferrus could say. His heart sank in agony. _What did you think would happen, you outcast freak,_ he rebuked himself, _Of course there's somebody else! I'd call him a moron if he wanted you of all people. Sheesh dude, get over yourself._ Link went on in the same gentle whisper, carefully observing the pain he saw in Ferrus' eyes. "You see, I had kind of suspected it for a while, but I guess I was too caught up trying to figure out this whole gay thing to really think about it. But you've gone and helped me not feel so wishy-washy, so now I know what I want. This guy's really special to me, ya know, and maybe now that I got a handle on my feelings something can happen between us, if that's what he wants too. And I got you to thank for that. You're a true friend, really…" Link was leaning closer down as he spoke, still gently but firmly clutching Ferrus limp hand. Ferrus could barely hear him speak over the thunder of his own heart. Their faces were only centimeters apart now, their locked hands nestled between their bodies. Link lifted his left hand and sweetly, gently caressed Ferrus' cheek with his fingertips. _Hehe, his skin's prickly like a grown-up. But I sure do like it,_ Link blissfully thought. He quietly purred, "Like, you're one amazing dude, Ferrus. I really like you. I like you a lot." His adorably upturned nose slid past Ferrus' round conk, and at long last their lips met.

Ferrus' chest exploded. He closed his eyes in joyous rapture, but no other muscle in his body would respond to his command to move. Link's gentle touch, his delicate lips, and a delicious scent Ferrus was now taking in for first time had seemingly sucked the life out of him. He was limp yet frozen, unable even to press back against Link's soft, cookies-and-milk flavored lips. _The wind,_ Ferrus thought vaguely as he inhaled, _he smells like the wind… and a smokestack._ Link adjusted his lips with a minor smack, now fitting them perfectly, snugly, securely against Ferrus' and gently rubbing their noses as their lips moved against one another, making soft, pleasing bilabial pops. His thoughts went into overdrive as Link slid his left hand around to his hairline at the back of his neck, and used the newfound leverage to kiss him more firmly, more sweetly, more sensually. _Oh my dear Valoo, where in New Hyrule did he learn to kiss like this? My goodness, he's so soft. His lips are so soft. His heart is so soft. Is he really kissing me? Oh, why can't I kiss him back? Please don't stop Link. I'm so sorry I can't return your kiss, but please don't stop._

Link didn't want to stop either. It was okay that Ferrus wasn't kissing him back; he felt sure he had simply shocked the older boy. He had always thought that surely people must be a little grossed out when they put their mouths together, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't feel the least bit disgusting. Rather, it was quite the opposite. He was revelling in this new experience, pouring out his overflowing young heart through that kiss, trying to convey something he knew he could never speak. He loved the way Ferrus lips felt, surprisingly full and a little squishy, with smooth skin and a luscious shape. He was overjoyed to taste those cookies and milk again, and felt that this time around they were somehow even more delicious. At a time when everything and everybody else felt so mixed up to the blossoming teen, being with Ferrus was pure clarity, peace, and happiness… why had it taken him so long to realize that? He would have turned in his engineer's certificate if doing so would make that kiss last forever, but he now felt that instinctive moment when one knows it's time to end it. Not questioning it, he gently detached his lips from Ferrus' with one last soft smack.

"Hehe," Link giggled warmly, "Sorry, I've never done that before. Was that, like, okay?" He nervously bit down on his lower lip, feeling a rush as he caught a residual taste of Ferrus. _Okay? Okay?! It wasn't just okay; it was wonderful. It was beautiful. You're beautiful,_ Ferrus thought back in unabated disbelief. He tried to speak, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. All he managed to produce was a low croaking noise. _Are you absolutely sure you've never done that before, Link? Or at least watched somebody, read about it, studied it in a special degree program? Dear, precious Link… I have no idea why you kissed me. I don't really care though. Not right now. Would you please do it again, if I may ask so much?_

Link's expression changed. His nervous smile dropped into a slightly panicked frown, his eyes grew wide, and his cheeks flushed from a pleasant rosiness to a blotchy red. _Fiddlesticks, ol' boy, you done goofed it all up,_ a nasty voice was telling his tender heart, _he didn't kiss you back because he doesn't like you back, duh. And now you just done made things weird and probably lost yourself another friend. You'd best skedaddle now, before you make things worse._ Link dropped Ferrus' hand and stood up, trembling from head to toe. He spoke hoarsely as tears filled his troubled eyes. "Geez Ferrus, I'm sorry. That wasn't okay at all, was it? I shoulda asked first or… I don't know. I goofed up bad. I got whipped cream for brains. Sorry about that. I… I gotta shugga chugga home now." He fled out the door, a small sob escaping him as he slammed it behind him and dashed for the platform.

Now it was Ferrus' turn to panic. "No," he whispered aloud, finally finding his voice. But it was too quiet, too late. _Flaming freight cars, what to do? He's leaving. I hurt him. Why couldn't I just tell him what I felt? Oh Hylia, what should I do?_ He put his head down and clutched his dark blue locks in desperation. Suddenly, his old Pops' rough voice piped up in his head. _"See Ferrus, the second you feel the catch- not just a nibble, but a real catch- you gotta set the hook. Snag 'em good before you reel 'em in, else they're gone forever. You miss that moment, an' ya might never catch that same fish again. Ya listenin', son? This part's important. It's the same deal with women, yer gonna find out one day. Feel the bite, set the hook, reel 'em in."_ Mostly Ferrus thought his father's words were ridiculous; people weren't "fish" to be "caught." But now he saw one inkling of truth in the metaphor. Link had bit, and if he didn't set the hook now, he might be gone forever. Ferrus sprang to his feet and threw the door open.

"LINK!" he roared into the frigid night. In the dim light of the waxing crescent moon, he saw the small, dark figure hopping onto the engineer's box. The platform was no more than 20 yards away, but Link didn't hear him. _Snow absorbs sound,_ Ferrus frantically thought. He dashed over the stone pavers that made a path through his yard, making a beeline for the platform. He ignored the cold stinging of his feet as he sprinted through the several inches of snow coating the ground; he had left his shoes inside. "LINK! WAIT!" he cried again as he approached the ledge of the platform. Link, who had been blindly fumbling with the train's various levers, jerked around in the direction of Ferrus' voice. He felt a pang of hope as he saw the frantic young man hoist himself onto the platform, using one hand to pop himself over the ledge with surprising agility. Ferrus' hat was gone, freeing his long blue bangs to whip around him as he bolted barefoot toward the bewildered teen.

Ferrus bounded onto the engineer's box with a gasp and halted himself by nearly colliding with the dashboard. In doing so, he caught a very shocked Link between his arms, pinning the small lad. Ferrus let out a great wheeze. "Link…" he exhaled as he struggled to catch his breath. He was huffing, head hung down over Link's shoulder. "I… I-I," Ferrus stammered as his racing heartbeat steadied and his breathing became less labored. "I… Sorry. I don't run often." Link replied in a small voice, unable to think clearly, "I guess not, dude." Ferrus ignored him. Link didn't blame him. Inhaling deeply, Ferrus turned his head and determinedly whispered in Link's ear. "Don't leave yet. I gotta set the hook." "Set the…? What, am I a fishy now?" "Something like that…"

Ferrus took the somewhat shorter teen up in his arms, blissfully acquainting himself with Link's small but sturdy body, and rather aggressively slammed their lips together. He was so lost in Link's delightful softness that he didn't immediately register that he was pressing every inch of his body against the teen, sandwiching him between the dashboard and himself. Feeling a pang in his chest, Ferrus backed off slightly; he hadn't meant to use that much force, but had gotten carried away by his own momentum. His cheeks were burning with shame at the tent he felt rising against his will; Link was teenager just learning to grapple with his maturing thoughts and emotions, and Ferrus was frightened by the thought that he had pushed Link beyond his comfort zone. He didn't want to hurt him…

Ferrus took a small step back, bringing Link with him, so that the teen could stand freely while Ferrus gently pressed their lips together. Link let out a slight heart-melting whimper as he ever so gently drew his arms around Ferrus, resting his shaking hands on the taller young man's sides… and he returned Ferrus' kiss, blissfully feeling his luscious lips once again. They both felt they were melting inside, and it wasn't until he felt a sharp pain in his frosted bare feet that Ferrus at last broke away. Nonetheless, he took a moment to look down at the precious engineer's weepy face, drinking him in with kind, loving eyes before hugging him gently. He heard Link's tiny, muffled voice whisper from his shoulder, "choo choo…" Ferrus giggled and concurred with his own "Choo choo…" He then softly spoke. "Listen, Mr. Engineer. You sure surprised me back there, but don't go apologizing and running off before I get a chance to say how I feel. I'm kinda bad at doing that, so you gotta be patient with me. Anyway, here I go." Ferrus let go of Link, and rested his hands on the teen's muscular shoulders. "I like you too, Link," he said simply, his dark eyes sparkling, "I like you a lot."

Link blinked his reddened eyes several times and raised his eyebrows in an expression of innocent uncertainty. "Like, for reals?" he asked frankly. Ferrus smiled. It was this exact behavior that made Link so endearing. "For reals," he confirmed, still grinning warmly. Link's face broke into a glowing, genuine smile of unaffected joy. _Oh my,_ Ferris internally swooned as he too was filled with a rush of happiness, _he really is beautiful, isn't he? What an angelic expression… I wanna make him smile like that more._ And he resolved then and there that he would do everything in his power to make Link the happiest being in the known universe. And that would start with…

"Hey, Link," he began, taking his hands off the angelic lad's shoulders and feeling somewhat nervous. "It's pretty late, and there isn't much moonlight tonight. Not good driving conditions. So how about you spend the night at my place? I got an extra futon, and for once my heater isn't broken." Link's angelic smile widened into an excited grin, and as if no longer able to keep his energy under wraps, he joyfully exploded. "CHOO CHOO! TRANIAC EXCLUSIVE SLEEPOVER, WACKO LOVEBIRDS ONLY," he hollered at the top of his lungs, leaping onto the platform and spinning to face a guffawing Ferrus and waving his arms. "HAHA! TRANIAC #1, TRANIAC #2 HEREBY CHALLENGES YOU TO A RACE TO THE TRAIN CAR HOUSE, STAKING RIGHTS TO THE SQUISHERIEST FUTON!" "Wait, what?" "On your mark, shugga chugga, CHOO CHOO!" And Link zoomed away, flying over the platform ledge while laughing maniacally. "WOAH DUDE, NO HEAD STARTS!" Ferrus yelled in glee as he too took off, much slower and already far behind. _Tonight's going to be the start of some happy, happy times,_ he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Ferrus woke up feeling too warm and cozy to open his eyes. He was snuggled in the softer of his two futons… the squisheriest, although he hadn't won the race… an image flashed in his mind of a certain giggling engineer. _Hehe, hey Ferrus? If we like each other and kiss and stuff, does that mean we get to be boyfriends now?_ Link had asked. _Is that, like, okay with you? 'Cause it sounds tootin' terrific to me._ Ferrus smiled contentedly; that was no fantasy. It was a memory. As of last night, Link was his boyfriend. He was filled with bliss as he mentally relived several of their warm kisses over, and over, and over… A warm puff of air reeking of human breath blasted Ferrus in the face, jerking him awake with a loud "HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK."

Sitting up blearily and filled with somewhat irritated amusement, he spied a bed-headed Link rolling on the floor in a loud fit of mirth. "Heckin' Hylia, Ferrus that was _priceless,"_ the cracking up teen snorted, "Dude, you got a bad mouth on you." "Not as bad as your kicking morning breath, chump," Ferrus playfully shot back, now also giggling. "Not my fault," Link grinned at him, "I forgot where you put the extra toothbrush last night, plus I don't like brushing before breakfast anyway. Dude, I got up early and I'm starving!"

Ferrus sleepily rubbed his eyes. "Well why on earth did you wake up-" he paused mid-sentence as he noticed what his boyfriend was wearing. Or rather, what he was not wearing. Link was clad only in a pair of green briefs printed with yellow and blue freight trains. His fair skin was glowing. His body was small but chiseled. Ferrus' mouth formed a comical "o" as his wide eyes travelled up Link's delightful shape and settled on the boy's innocent, childlike visage. Link raised an eyebrow. "Do you plan on finishing that question, or are you just gonna keep staring at me like I got two heads?"

Ferrus' cheeks flushed, and he looked away on the pretext of stretching. "Sorry…" he mumbled. "Nah, seriously dude, do I got a whopper of a booger or somethin'? 'Cause I get those in the morning." Ferrus snorted and shyly stole a glance at him. "No, it's just… Link, you're naked." Link looked genuinely surprised. "Oh, darn, did I forget to put on underwear agai- Hey, I am wearing underwear! My favorite pair too! What gives?!" "N-nothin'... I just wasn't expecting that." Link was simply bemused. "Expecting what?" "Uh… to see you in your underwear, I guess." Ferrus turned his beet red face away and started folding up his futon, smiling to himself. _Dear Hylia, bless this innocent boy's heart,_ he inwardly prayed. The "innocent boy" was still confused. "What do you mean? You invited me to spend the night, right? And underwear's what one wears to bed. Except for you. You're wearin' clothes for some reason." Ferrus looked down. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and flannel pajama pants that stopped just short of his ankles. They had once been red, but after years of wear and washing they had faded to a dull raspberry color. Link giggled. "You're weird, Ferrus."

Ferrus shook his head in amusement. _This guy is just too much._ "Not as weird as you, Mr. Shirtless Wonder," he said aloud, peeking yet again at his boyfriend's exposed torso. He paused in surprise. "Good Hylia Link, what happened there?" Ferrus gestured at Link's sternum; it was covered by a rough burn scar that spread to his pectorals in creeping dendrites, forming a pink spider's web of damaged tissue. "Huh?" Link responded, "Oh, that! That's where Byrne… uhh... Burned me. With an energy ball. Hehe, that's sounds funny. Byrne burned me. I got lotsa scars though. See?" Link turned his body and pointed at a long, faded brown line running down his left side. "That's where Phytops grazed me with a big ol' thorn. And this," he turned again and pointed at a rough white patch on his right shoulder, "is from Fraaz. Plus, on my back I got all these." Link spun around completely and twisted his arm behind himself so he could continue pointing. But Ferrus didn't need the gesture. Who in New Hyrule could miss the patchwork that covered Link's back? It looked as if it had been struck repeatedly with a white-hot poker. Ferrus despaired as he visually traced the pink lines that crisscrossed Link's otherwise smooth skin. They wouldn't have looked out of place on a galley slave.

Oblivious to Ferrus' disturbed reaction, Link explained conversationally, "Those are all from Malladus! He really roughed me up bad with those lasers." He turned around with a grin and held up his small brown hands. "And even my hands are all rough from workin' and swordfightin'! I'm dead clumsy, right, so I always got a bunch of little cuts on them. They don't blister like they used to though, 'cause now my skin's all thick. Alfonzo's are like that too. He says it's like havin' built-in gloves!" Ferrus impulsively reached out and grabbed one of those worn hands in his own, gently squeezing it. "Link…" he said softly.

Link looked up at him. His eyes widened as he realized Ferrus was a little upset. "Oh gee, dude, sorry. Yeah, my scars are pretty gross, I guess, so I'll put a shirt on." In a flash Link was on his feet and pulling on his engineer's uniform, which he had carefully folded before stowing it on one of the shelves the previous night. "Yeah, I don't go outside without a shirt 'cause of that. Also sunburn really hurts." Ferrus mumbled, "I didn't think they were gross…" Link walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Ferrus looked up at him. Link's expression was now kind and gentle. "It's, like, okay if you think they're gross, dude," he reassured him softly, "Most people have mixed feelings when it comes to scars. I like 'em because they tell stories. I have my story written on my body, ya know? But I understand that other people might not want to see 'em." Ferrus' eyes widened. No, that wasn't it. He wanted Link to understand that. "Err… I-I-it's not that. Really. Not lying." He took a deep breath and set his face. "I just… You got hurt a lot. I don't mind the scars themselves; if anything, they prove how brave you are." Link's eyebrows twitched slightly. Observing this, Ferrus continued. "Yes, I remember what you told me last night about the hero stuff. I guess I just don't like the idea of you being hurt so much. I mean, who would like the idea of their b-boyfriend having to go through all that? You didn't just do cool stuff; you bore a lot of pain too, huh?" He paused again. Link's head was cocked to the side, his eyes kind but his expression unreadable. Ferrus' voice shook a little as he added, "So… sorry if I was thoughtless before."

Link's expression softened, and he wordlessly leaned down and kissed Ferrus' forehead. Standing back up, he surprised Ferrus by gently patting his head. Link was smiling now, noting as he spoke that he found Ferrus' hair pleasantly soft and thick. "Hmm, I don't think you were thoughtless. After all, compliments are almost always good things to say. But you're right; when people think you're one way and you don't feel that way about yourself, it puts a lot of pressure on you to try to live up their expectations. I think this can be a good thing, as it can motivate people to always be their best selves. But you know what I like even better than compliments?" "What's that?" Ferrus obligingly replied. Link's eyes sparkled as he further lifted only one corner of his mouth. "I like being appreciated as I am, and loved even though I'm a knuckleheaded trainiac."

Ferrus' mouth twitched, unsure whether to laugh or not. Instead, his stomach made the decision by letting out an enormous rumble. Link guffawed loudly, slapping his own knee. "SHUGGA CHUGGA said the TUMMAH!" he exclaimed. Ferrus started laughing too, more at Link than anything else. "The tummah?" "Yeah, like a tummy except it rhymes with shugga chugga. So, what's for eatin'?" "Oh, darn," Ferrus answered in embarrassment, remembering his bare pantry. "Err, we might have to go fishing or something. I kinda… am out of food." "Huh?!" Link exclaimed in surprise. Ferrus blushed to his ears, feeling the special guilt of an unprepared host. It was no secret that he was poor, but this was just embarrassing. Luckily for Ferrus, Link wasn't the one to allow such trifles as a lack of food get in the way of his mealtimes.

"Hey hey, I got an idea!" he said excitedly, "No need to go fishing at all, 'cause I already got fish! Let's go to my house and eat!" "What?" Ferrus was thrown off kilter. "Yeah, we can eat at my house! We just gotta take a wacko portal and we'll be there lickity split! C'mon, like, get dressed and stuff already!"

Link burst through the door, dragging a somewhat dazzled Ferrus behind him. Although the journey was admittedly less exciting than their tour-de-wacko-portal of the previous day, having ridden in the passenger car rather than in the engineer's box, Ferrus' head was still in a whirl. He hadn't expected for Link to suddenly whisk him away, and found himself contemplating his boyfriend with wonder. He had never known a person to be so impetuous and energetic, and found it nothing short of exhilarating.

That being said, Ferrus felt a wave of anxiety when he found himself face to face with a tiny old man in a striped shirt. Niko. "Heya, old guy!" Link was shouting with glee, "Ferrus is eatin' breakfast with us, 'kay?" "Hmm? Who's that?" Niko replied, hobbling over to the door. Link had plopped on one of the beds in the lower left corner of the room. "Ferrus!" he yelled into the pillow. "He's mah boi! He's eating breakfast here and he's a trainiac. Do we have any eggs? And some fish and toast would be, like, the bee's knees. I might take the train out again later today. I stayed the night at Ferrus' train car and it was coolio." Niko sighed in apparent amusement. "So, you disappear without warning, come back and babble to me." He looked over at Ferrus with a genial smile and a twinkle in his beady eyes. "So m'boy, I think Nutjob over there said your name is Ferrus." He reached out and took Ferrus' hand, shaking it. "Erm, yeah. I hope you don't mind me eating here." Niko chuckled, setting Ferrus slightly at ease. "Of course not. Hey, Nutjob!" Link sprung off the bed and landed in a soldier's salute. "AYE, CAPTAIN?" He stood in a comically rigid posture that belied the wide grin on his face. "Go get some eggs from next door. They should be 12 rupees for a dozen." "Aye aye, sir!" And Link bounced out the door.

Ferrus chuckled merrily. "Gee, he's even more wired than usual today. Something really good must have happened." Ferrus raised his eyebrows and blushed slightly. "Umm… not sure what that could be." "He's probably just riled up from having a sleepover. I think he said that's what y'all did, right?" Ferrus glanced down. "Yeah. I'm still not sure how it all happened though." Niko laughed, making his way over to counter against the right wall of the room. "Who knows how anything happens with that boy? Knowing him, he probably just decided he felt like spending the night and did it." Ferrus grinned. That was pretty much how it happened.

Niko was unwrapping a long, slippery package containing a descaled fish. Grouper. He lit the fire in the hearth, moving with that particular slowness common in the elderly, indicative of otherwise skilled hands that were failing in their physical capabilities. "Oh, sorry, did you need any help?" Ferrus offered, rolling up his sleeves and approaching the counter. Niko looked a little surprised. "Hmm? Oh, no thanks. This old man can still do a few things for himself." He gave Ferrus a nearly toothless smile. "Well, I suppose if you insist you can filet and skewer the fish. I suppose I am getting on up there in years, and my old bones don't quite work how I tell them too nowadays… Yeah, I think I'll just ease into my chair here. Thanks, young man!" And Niko had indeed sunk into a rather squashy chair at the octagonal kitchen table.

Ferrus smiled in amusement and quietly began preparing the fish in skilled, mechanical movements. Niko was chatting away in the corner. "Yes, that boy's a right handful, almost too much for a geezer like myself. He gets it from his father, ya know?" "His father?" Ferrus answered in vague interest. "Oh yeah, Link II. See, your buddy there is actually Link III. And his great grandfather was Link I, also known as the Hero of Winds. Incidentally, he was a great friend of mine."

Ferrus' heart jumped and he dropped his knife with a clatter. "What?!" "Oh yeah, we were real close buds! Went through all kinds of adventures together," Niko continued, evidently pleased. _No way,_ Ferrus thought, his head whirling. _Link is- I mean, Link III- I guess. My boyfriend. He's a direct descendant of the Hero of Winds._ Niko laughed in enjoyment. "Hah, I take it you know about the Hero of Winds, then?" "Yeah, of course," Ferrus confirmed breathlessly. How could he not know of the legendary hero, growing up where he did? "I had no idea Link was related to him though."

Niko eagerly opened up a large purple album on the table. "Hah, how could he not be? He's the spitting image of his great-grandpa, let me tell you! Come, have a gander at this." Ferrus stuck the fish in the fire to smoke and curiously approached the table, leaning over the album. Inside the cover was a neatly diagrammed family tree next to a faded pictograph of a young man nearly identical to the Link Ferrus knew. He had the same outrageously yellow hair, same round cheeks, and there probably wasn't an inch difference in their height.

"See, there's Link I in the picture," Niko explained, "Link's probably taking his sweet time coming back with the eggs, chatting up the neighbors and all, so I may as well give you a little lesson on his family tree." He pointed over to the top line of the family tree. Link I was connected to the name Tetra. "So the Hero of Winds- Link I- eventually gets hitched to Tetra, our pirate captain and, incidentally, that generation's reincarnation of Princess Zelda." Ferrus blinked his eyes rapidly. Niko continued, "And they had two daughters. The oldest, Zelda I, is the late mother of the current princess, Zelda II. I can't remember how exactly she kicked the bucket, but there ya go. Her younger sister, Ciela- Link I told me he named her after someone he met in a dream or some such crazy thing- was a bit of an oddball. Adventurous, charming, wasn't suited for royal life. Tetra didn't have a problem with that- I mean, she was a former pirate captain herself- and allowed her to leave the castle and live her life as she pleased. Ciela married this real sleazy dude, although some say he became a bit kinder in his old age, named Linebeck II. They went and had two sons. Linebeck III was a real ingrate, ran away from home at an early age and got taken in by his grandfather. The older one, Link II, that's Link's dad, lived right here in the village. He was a real firecracker, but he was true as steel and a good friend to everybody who knew him." A shadow passed over Niko's face. Ferrus inquired timidly, "Umm… if I may ask, why do you say 'was'?"

Niko sighed, "Ah, that's a bad business, there… Link doesn't like to talk about it much." He glanced around the room and checked out the window. "But I guess there's no harm talking if he isn't here. See, Link II was a sailor by trade. Nothing special, just a crewman on a merchant's vessel. Anyway, one day- Link was probably about 9 years old at the time- we get word that his vessel's been sunk. They, err… they never found his body, or most of the wreckage for that matter. A couple of other crewmen that did turn up said the ship had been caught in a bad storm and attacked. No word on Link's dad, though. He's been missing ever since, and I honestly don't see how he could have made it, but one can't ever give up hope, right?"

Niko and Ferrus' heads snapped up. Link III was standing in the doorway, a basketful of eggs under one arm, staring at them both with an oddly blank expression. His eyes weren't sparkling anymore. Niko reacted immediately, speaking in a falsely cheery voice. "Hey, m'boy, looks like you got the eggs! You ready to chow down?" He stood up quickly, catching himself on the table when he came close to falling. "Err, yeah, sure," Link mumbled, looking down. Ferrus simply stood frozen. "Uhh, say, Niko..." Link said, sounding almost accusatory, "Were you just talkin' about Dad again?" Niko's eyes widened. "Well, yes… Sorry, son. I was just giving Ferrus here a little history lesson here and I… Well, I got carried away." Link raised an eyebrow and silently walked over to the counter, taking down a bowl into which he began cracking the eggs. Niko hastily added, "But hey, sport, no need to get all down in the mouth about it! Like I was just saying, he could turn up any day now and-" "No," Link cut him off firmly, smashing an egg in the bowl. He turned to face Niko. "I told you, like, a thousand times. Dad promised me he would come back in time for my birthday. And he always kept his word to me, no matter what. Like, he'd even swim home if he had to. So if he's not back by now then he's just gotta be… ya know… So let's just not talk about him, huh?" Link's eyes were moist. "Err… yeah. Sorry, kiddo," Niko said meekly. Link gave him a small smile. "Nah, don't worry about it. Let's get crackalackin' on the egg cracklin', 'kay?"

Niko stood up gingerly and laughed, the tension between them easing when he said "And a'toastin' on the… toast toastin'." Link snorted. Glancing over his shoulder, something caught Niko's eye. "Hey Link, whatchoo got there?" "Oh, this? Link replied, dropping the eggs on the counter and raising his right hand; between his fingers Ferrus saw what looked like the corner of an envelope. "I checked the mail while I was out. Looks like I got a letter from… Zelda." Ferrus glanced at him significantly as Link turned around and pushed himself onto the counter. Link gave him a small, reassuring smile in return. _Don't worry about it,_ his eyes said.

"Hmmm…" Niko pursed his lips and maintained a tactful, albeit pointed silence as Link undid the seal on the envelope. Ferrus anxiously studied Link's expression as he read; his smile dropped to a slight frown, and his cheeks turned slightly pink. Ferrus watched with bated breath as Link finished reading, resealed the letter, and dropped it on the counter. "Hey, Ferrus?" he asked abruptly.

Ferrus almost jumped out of his seat. "What is it?" Ferrus felt himself blush. "I mean, what did she say?" he rephrased, unable to suppress a traitorous note of concern in his voice. "Not much," Link replied, glancing sideways at Niko, "But, like, do you think you can come to the castle with me today? Like, after breakfast?" Ferrus raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, of course."

The remainder of breakfast passed in relative silence. The food was delicious, but Ferrus had a hard time unclenching his stomach; what confrontation would he and Link face at the castle, and why did Link need him there with him in the first place? The previous night, he and Link had been too deep in "a new lover's daze" to discuss how open they were comfortable with being about their relationship. Would that lack of communication come back to bite him so soon? How would he react, facing the girl who loved his boyfriend? The _princess_ who loved his boyfriend… If he and Link weren't meant to be, he felt whatever was destined to happen between Link and Zelda would determine that. _What exactly was in that letter?_


	3. Chapter 3

_"Dear Link,_

 _I've been trying to give you space, but I can't hold back any longer. You've been avoiding me for a month now, and I want to know what's going on. There are things we need to discuss in person. Please, come visit me at the castle at your earliest convenience._

 _Your friend,_

 _Zelda"_

She had phrased the letter casually enough, she thought, so why wouldn't her heart stop pounding? Zelda mindlessly sifted through the stack of documents on her desk, working in automation. She hardly knew what she was signing as she touched her quill to the parchment. Every few seconds she kept glancing towards the door, and she jumped in her seat every time she thought she heard footsteps. Teacher was snoozing in an armchair, thankfully oblivious to Zelda's disturbed mood.

The tension surrounding her was almost tangible. _Stay calm, Zelda. It's just Link; just your friend. Your best friend. He's been acting off lately, but you know how flighty he is. You're just going to talk to him. All friends hit a bump in the road at some point, right? You haven't necessarily done anything wrong; Link hasn't done anything wrong either. All you have to do is tell him how you feel. Exactly, that's the best course here. Be open, honest, and sensitive. Maybe he really does feel the same way, and that's why he's been avoiding you. Right. He's just trying to work out his feelings. Don't worry so much. Just have faith…_ She hated just having faith. She needed to know.

A door slammed down the hall, and Zelda jumped to her feet in a panic. _He's here already?!_ She strained her long ears in search of that familiar bubbly chatter, barely able to hear over her own beating heart. She caught the sound of some soldiers' raucous laughter, but didn't hear the one voice she could pick out in any crowd. Her body relaxed. _It's not him._

Behind her, Teacher was stirring in his armchair. "Hmmm? Ah, Princess, are you finished already?" he muttered sleepily. She turned around. "Err… no, not quite. I… I fancied a stroll around the courtyard. I'll return shortly." "Certainly, certainly…" he responded, ending in a low snore. He was already asleep again.

That was well enough; even the newest recruit knew something was wrong when they saw their princess, normally so cheerful and eager, strolling silently among the hedges with her hands clenched behind her back and her eyes downcast. And everyone from the guard captain down to the scullery maid knew the trouble was young Master Link.

"Link, are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" Ferrus asked as he beheld the stone architecture with ill-disguised alarm. Their arrival in Castle Town had not boded well. They were hardly off the platform when a familiar group of shady individuals had jeered and waved at him. "Just some old acquaintances," Ferrus had explained evasively. Thankfully, Link was too preoccupied to question him further.

Now, standing on the well-maintained bridge to the castle, Ferrus was shaking in his shoes. As his old auntie would have said, he felt as out of place as a fish in a meadow. Or maybe a minnow in a shark tank. "Yeah, sure it's fine!" Link said with a bit too much conviction. Ferrus stared at him skeptically. "Okay, maybe it's a bit improper for you to show up without an official summons," Link admitted, "But, like…" Ferrus frowned. "Ferrus, Zelda said she wants to talk to me, and like, I got a feeling we're about to duke it out." Ferrus raised his eyebrows. "I mean, isn't that just all the more reason for me to not be here? It's not like I can do anything to help," he reasoned dejectedly. That's what his logical mind told him, but… "I know that, Ferrus. I just… like, I don't think I can't face her alone. Does that make any sense?" Link buried his face in one hand. "Sorry, I know I'm kinda being super selfish. But please, can you just come with me?" He peered over his hands, eyes full of pleading.

Ferrus sighed. "Fine, I guess…" _Even though I still don't have a clue what you expect me to do._ His legs felt like lead as he strolled over the bridge, Link leading him by the hand. Images flashed in his mind of a stately princess, peering down imperiously at them from a high throne. If possible, his nerves were strung even tighter.

Link set his face resolutely as they approached the castle doors, once so welcoming, now so intimidating. He had every intention of barging straight into Zelda's bedroom, but as for his plans after that, his mind only gave him a blank hum. He didn't have a clue how he was going to break it to her. He didn't know why he brought Ferrus with him; he just somehow felt more secure knowing he was there. And maybe, just maybe, having Ferrus there would help him keep his head cool…

And then Zelda strolled out from behind the hedges. She looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. "Oh, Link!" she exclaimed softly; she briefly glanced at Ferrus before focusing her attention on Link. "Uhh, howdy," Link greeted her awkwardly, ruffling the back of his hair. A tense silence followed. "Uhh, sorry. Ferrus and I were hanging out so I kinda just brought him with me." Zelda pursed her lips slightly, but inclined her head towards Ferrus all the same. "Of course. That's fine; I just wanted to have… to have a chat. Please, do follow me."

Ferrus opened his mouth to choke out a greeting, but it felt as if an egg were lodged in his throat. At the moment Zelda turned around, he became overwhelmingly conscious of her. She, a princess, a pretty- no, _beautiful_ \- girl of 17, who carried herself with both modesty and confidence, who was a long-time friend of Link's, who had been his anchor during the most troubling period of his life. He watched as her long golden locks, almost as bright as Link's, swished behind her, their color clashing prettily with her fuchsia silk gown. Everything about her demeanor suggested not just good breeding, but a good, kind nature. _This girl is in love with your boyfriend, and you know he has every reason to be attracted to her. He only started identifying as homosexual yesterday, and goodness knows sexuality is just as fluid and ever-changing as a tide-sculpted coastline. She… she is in every respect a worthier candidate than myself. Why am I even here?_

The princess led them not to the throne room, as Ferrus had envisioned, but straight to her private chambers. There on her heavy wooden desk was a silver tea tray set for three, placed there by some mysterious and attentive servant. Ferrus' feet sunk into the squishy red carpet of the magnificent room, but he was hardly in a mental state to appreciate its relaxed elegance.

"Please, sit," Zelda said, gestured toward two small but comfortable chairs at the front of her desk. She kept her eyes averted downwards as she busied herself pouring tea. "Would you like cream, Ferrus? Sugar?" She didn't seem to need to ask how to fix Link's tea. "J-just sugar, please," Ferrus replied. His own voice felt distant. Link and Ferrus murmured thanks as Zelda handed them their respective drinks, and sat down behind her desk. Her face seemed relaxed enough, but Ferrus couldn't help but notice the way her gloved hands trembled as she raised the porcelain cup to her lips. Link, perhaps unintentionally, was avoiding her gaze.

"Well, Link, I suppose you received my letter," she said pointedly, as if just to break the silence. "I… umm, yeah," Link replied, staring at some point just over her right shoulder. "Well, you have been avoiding me," she said, just a hint of reproach in her voice. "I mean I just… I had other… umm, yeah." The tension broke, and Zelda spoke freely.

"Come on Link, you've been my friend for four years now. I thought you knew that you can talk to me," she said, a note of pleading mingling with her otherwise level tone as she continued. "If I've done something to upset you, I want to know about it. Please, just tell me if something is wrong." Ferrus looked from one troubled face to the other. _I'd be more comfortable sitting on a hill of fire ants,_ he thought. "Gee, Zelda, you haven't done anything wrong," Link said quickly, "I just… I kinda got my own stuff going on, ya know?" "Stuff you can't talk to me about?" she replied, her tone unmistakably sharp.

Link flinched a little. "No! I mean, maybe… arggh, like-" "Link, I think we both know what's going on here," Zelda cut him off. Her hands were trembling violently; a drop of tea splashed out of her cup, staining her otherwise immaculate white glove. Ferrus was surprised to hear Link reply in just as curt a tone. "Well, why don't you just say it then, huh?" "Maybe I will!" the princess cried, a look of anger finally breaking her poker face. "You know very well that I… that I…!" "Go on, say it!" Link said savagely, getting to his feet. Zelda's look changed to one of despair, but she too stood up, resolutely placing her palms on her desk. "I like you, okay?! Not like friends, I want more than that! And you, you… You knew that, so you ran away!" Link looked stunned. Ferrus slid down in his chair, as if hoping to sink into the ground. "You ran away! And you know what, maybe you feel the same way, or so I thought. I dared hope that maybe you were just sorting your feelings out or, or… and just needed time!" Link's mouth was angry, but his eyes were despairing. "No!" he shouted, "That's not it! That wasn't it at all. I didn't avoid you because I felt… because I also… no, Zelda, that wasn't it!" The sound of her own name seemed to have temporarily muted her voice. "Then what was it?" she asked quietly. Link's tone softened in return. "I didn't want to hurt you. Sorry, Zelda, but I just don't- I can't- feel that way about you. I'm… I'm really sorry." Zelda was silent for a moment. She had thought of this, but her optimism hadn't allowed her to really consider the possibility. _Am I being a brat?_ She thought. _Am I just so full of myself that I assumed he would return my feelings? No, that wasn't it at all. I'm just afraid… I'm afraid of being hurt. That if this didn't work out between us, I would lose his friendship too…_

"No," she finally said, clearly about to change tactics, "Look, Link don't be sorry. No, listen. We can make this work. I… I'll give you all the time you need! You can learn to like me back! Just, please, just give me a chance and-" "NO!" Link startled both Zelda and Ferrus by slamming his hands on the desk. "Were you, like, listening to me? I didn't say I _don't_ feel the same way, I said I _can't_!" Link looked both frustrated and angry. "Why?" Zelda whispered, her voice cracking as she at last succumbed to tears. "Because," Link began, clenching his jaw as if undergoing some painful internal struggle. "Because, Zelda, I'm, like, into guys!" Zelda shook, simply staring him with wide eyes and a tear-streaked face. "Yeah, I said it," Link continued firmly, "I'm gay. I'm very, very gay. I'm homo-flippin'-sexual. And Ferrus, you know what he's here today?" _Dear Hylia, Link, please don't drag me into this,_ Ferrus thought as he stared up at him reproachfully. Link plowed on anyway. "He's here 'cause he's my boyfriend. We were tryin' to hang out and stuff today when… Well, so there!"

Zelda simply stared, dumbstruck. _He's gay. Link likes men. Link has a boyfriend. So that means… no matter what, no matter what I do, he would never… From the start, he would have never felt for me that way._ "No," she finally whispered aloud, "I can't accept that…" _I can't accept that… that that means everything I've felt… Today was a huge mistake. Oh, Hylia, what have I done?_

Link's expression returned to one of defiant anger. "Well, you gotta accept it, Zelda, 'cause that's just me. And if you can't accept me, I guess it's time to leave." He turned to Ferrus. "C'mon, Ferrus. Let's go." Ferrus stood up hesitantly, looking from Link to Zelda and wishing with all his might that he could disappear on the spot. Zelda's eyes suddenly dawned in comprehension. "Wait, no, Link! That's not what I-" "Bye, Princess!" Link interrupted, and abruptly he dashed from the room. Ferrus stood still for a moment. Turning his head, he made eye contact with the crying princess, and he felt a wave of deep, sincere pity for her wash over him. _Is it true?_ her eyes seemed to say, _have you really won his heart where I couldn't?_ "Sorry," was all he could whisper before he at last uprooted his feet from the carpet and followed his boyfriend out of the room.

Catching up with Link wasn't an easy matter, but thankfully Ferrus found him at the one logical place he could think of: back at the train. Link's ears twitched as Ferrus approached, but he kept his back stubbornly turned while his hands worked across the train's dashboard, preparing to set its gears in motion. Ferrus hesitated and paused just a few feet away from him. "Uhh… Link?" He heard a sniffle.

Ferrus' mind was racing. _Oh, shit, what have I done? I should have left him well enough alone… if I wasn't involved, if Link hadn't come to talk to me about his sexuality, maybe he wouldn't have responded so strongly to the princess' confession. And if I wasn't there… did I put pressure on him? What if there's a chance he would like her back, but he felt like he couldn't say that in front of me? After all, this is how it's always been; people are better off when I leave them well enough alone._

"Link…" Ferrus repeated, his mouth open but struggling to form words. Link, turned his head slightly, obviously trying to avoid fully exposing his tear-streaked face. He sniffed again. "Hey, Ferrus…" he mumbled awkwardly, but there wasn't a need to say another word. Ferrus had already put his arms around him, allowing the shorter boy to bury his face against Ferrus' shoulder. Ferrus didn't know what else to say, what else to do; he just stood there, holding Link tightly, hoping with all his might it would be enough. _I can't do much more for you, but I hope it helps,_ he thought miserably. And he felt another stab of guilt, remembering the role he may have played in Link's troubles.

"Ferrus," Link finally mumbled from Ferrus' shoulder, "I wanna go to your house." "My house?" Ferrus asked, a little surprised, but quickly added, "Of course. Whatever you want. Are you… uhh, are you okay to drive?" Link finally picked his head up, looking at Ferrus' face. His eyes were red and puffy, but he was smiling slightly. "I think so." Ferrus raised an eyebrow. "You think so?" "Yeah, I'm fine," Link answered firmly, finally letting go and turning back towards the dashboard. He pulled a small white handkerchief out of his uniform pocket, and rather loudly blew his nose into it. He looked back over at Ferrus, again with the tiniest of sad smiles. "Hop in the coach. It ain't safe to put two people in the engineer's box."

Ferrus sneezed as the Sweet Train eased to a halt. Despite having entered a state of near complete dissociation brought on by his own whirling thoughts, he couldn't help but admire Link's smooth handling. Speaking of whom, he couldn't imagine what was going through Link's mind at the moment. What was going to happen when he stepped onto the platform, let the boy into his home for the second night in a row, and then they would undoubtedly get to talking… what did Link want?

There was a rapping at the door. "Ferrus, ya plan on gettin' out?" Link's voice called. Ferrus jumped slightly. "Yeah, sorry." He stood up, unsticking his face from the window, and slid open the door. Link was waiting for him; he was grinning, albeit a bit forcefully. The noontime sun was glaring off the powdering of snow that never quite left Wellspring Station.

Link stretched and shivered. "Come on, let's go inside before I freeze to death." "Uh, yeah…" Ferrus replied awkwardly. And then Link took him by the arm. Ferrus felt his heart suddenly jump and speed up, but he wasn't sure if it was caused by the anxiety that had been building since leaving the castle, or by the warmth of the boy holding onto him. Ferrus caught himself staring down at Link; his lips were pouting. Not a good sign. Link looked up at Ferrus, his eyes shining in mild concern. _Are you okay?_ Ferrus felt his facial muscles relax and the knot in his chest loosen slightly. _Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just worried about you._

Arm in arm they went up the steps into the train car. It wasn't much warmer than outside, but at least they were out of the wind. The lighting was subdued, filtered through the pearly snow clouds. Ferrus closed the door behind them and mumbled, "Sorry it's still cold, I'll turn the heater on…" He turned on his heel, but before he could take a step a small, sturdy pair of arms had wrapped around his chest, spinning him back around. Link pressed his face against Ferrus' heart, burying himself against the young man. "It's 'kay," he croaked, his voice muffled against Ferrus' clothes, "You're plenty warm."

Another lump welled in Ferrus' throat; he couldn't tell if his nerves had completely relaxed or just taughtened to a point where he could no long feel them. His arms hovered awkwardly by his sides for a moment as he took in the sight of the blond head beneath his chin. Link's cap was perched at an angle atop his locks; thinking that it looked likely to fall off, Ferrus removed it with one shaking hand. He then did the only thing he knew he could do, and said the only thing he knew he could say. He wrapped his arms tightly around Link, holding him close. "Sorry," he whispered.

"What're are you sorry for, silly?" Link softly replied. His voice sounded almost babyish. "I… I guess just that I couldn't do more, and I… uh, I dunno," Ferrus struggled to respond. He felt Link gently clutch a handful of his uniform's fabric. "Nah, I really goofed," Link said regretfully, "I really shouldn't've yelled at her." "Maybe so…" Ferrus began hesitantly. Link hiccupped. "But you were under a lot of stress, huh? And hey, I should have helped keep things calm, as the third party. All I did was… well, sit there." "Mm-mm," Link said, finally looking up at Ferrus, "Nah, I dragged ya along and put ya in a bad spot. I'm sorry about that… I really am still a child, huh?" "Hmm… well, in many ways, I suppose so," Ferrus began, nearly panicking when he saw Link frown. "But there's nothing wrong with that, now is there?" he added in a rush, "I mean, who wants to grow up, anyway? I mean, ahh… uhh, sorry, I don't really know what I'm saying to say. But just… don't be too hard on yourself." Link's expression looked uncharacteristically neutral as he tilted his head slightly to the side. The lump rose in Ferrus' throat again. "I just hope I didn't put pressure on you, or make you feel like you had to say those things, or-" "Ferrus," Link interjected. "Yes?" Ferrus rapidly responded.

Their warm, wet lips were suddenly pressed together. Ferrus felt himself freeze up and melt again. He tried to remind himself what he had been trying to say, but he just couldn't seem to recall anymore. All he could feel was Link… and he noticed that this kiss was somehow softer, gentler than the ones from the previous night. Just as he registered this, Link broke away. "Ferrus, I asked you out because I like you," he soothingly whispered, "You're a great guy, and just… I'm so glad you're with me." "Y-y-yes, but even s-so," Ferrus stammered, "I mean, I don't want to tie you down. I mean I'm just me and, well, she's really pretty and-" "Sh sh sh sh," Link quietly hushed him. "None of that stuff matters. You're Ferrus, and nobody else is, 'kay? There's nobody else I'd rather be kissin' on." "Ahh," Ferrus blankly murmured, his cheeks turning hot.

Link had let go and went to turn on the heater. Ferrus scratched the back of his head again. _Ya know, you can't start off your relationship doubting him like this,_ a voice piped up in his mind, _if you want to do right by him, you're just going to have to trust that he knows what he wants, and be ready to support and accept whatever decisions he may make in the future. Have faith; this isn't just about you._ Ferrus, exhaled, relaxing his shoulders, and then startling as he thought of something. "Whoops, Link, I forgot something!" Ferrus cried, "I still don't have anything to eat. What are we gonna do about lunch? And dinner, too. I mean, that is, if you decide to stay that long- not that you're not welcome to- it's totally up to you, I mean-" Link snorted, cutting him off. He spun on his heel and winked at Ferrus. "No worries, buddy, I packed some food from my house in case we came back here." Ferrus' jaw dropped slightly. "Ahh," he exhaled. "And if ya don't mind," Link added, one corner of his mouth lifted in a crooked grin, "I wanna stay the night again. Is that okay?" Ferrus felt himself smiling in return. He looked at the floor. "Of course," he mumbled, and then spoke louder, "But tonight, please take the squisheriest futon."


End file.
